Blockchain—secure, tamper-resistant digital records—could revolutionize the way aircraft part histories are recorded and stored, Dan daCosta, the business development lead at air transport IT and telecommunication services firm SITA, said yesterday at the NBAA Business Aircraft Finance, Registration, and Legal Conference. “There are several issues involving the aircraft part lifecycle, including a large number of actors involved and difficulty in tracking and monitoring assets, not to mention the current process is paper-based,” he said.
Thus, blockchain has the potential to bring more visibility to the aircraft part supply chain, according to daCosta. In short, it would integrate data from manufacturers, distributors, maintainers, operators, and lessors/owners that currently resides in silos, moving it to a shared ledger where no transactions can be changed once recorded.
Benefits of blockchain for aircraft parts include standardized maintenance records for aircraft maintenance centers and operators, lower cost of verification for leasing companies, and lower-cost financing for aircraft due to a higher level of trust in the records, said daCosta.
Blockchain also has applications for aircraft transactions, with AIC announcing at the NBAA conference that it now has the aviation industry’s first aircraft transaction room secured by this emerging technology.
